


At the same time in a completely different place in the universe

by PuzzlesolverDramaqueen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Letters, M/M, They are desperate, This is TRAGEDY, with some happy moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 09:30:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11552358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuzzlesolverDramaqueen/pseuds/PuzzlesolverDramaqueen
Summary: What would have happened, if Gellert and Albus had never met? If Ariana hadn't died because of them? If they had found a way to cure her? If they had found the hallows?What would have happened, if their story had taken a different turn?





	At the same time in a completely different place in the universe

_Mr Supreme Mugwump,_

_I was contacted by a fellow countryman of yours. Little brat with some stupid made up name. Asked me about you._

_Thought you'd might like to know that someone manages to talk to me at least._

_\- GG_

 

*****

 

_Dear Gellert,_

_after out last encounter I was under the impression that you never wished to talk to me again._

_I must ask about that fellow you mentioned. This made up name wouldn't happen to be Voldemort, would it?_

_My apologies, I seem unable to come up with something else to write at the moment. I hope you are well._

_Albus Dumbledore_

 

*****

 

_Dumbledore,_

_never talk to you again! You are a fool, Dumbledore! At the same time in a completely different place in this universe we have never stopped talking!_

_We're out there, the rulers of the new world! The revolutionists! Masters of death! Like it was supposed to be!_

_You pretentious airhead, sitting in your castle, hiding from your own greatness, from OUR greatness! You were never good at pretending to care._

_But, of course, omniscient as you are, you're right. The name's Voldemort. Lord Voldemort to be precise. He's boring me._

_\- GG_

 

*****

 

Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium and Poland were part of their alliance.

There was not a child in the world, who didn't shudder at the sound of their names - or rejoiced upon hearing them.

There had been fighting, of course. There had been killing and prisoners. But by now the countries had found peace. Each country had a wizarding government, which included muggle advisors - Albus had insisted on that. Insisted on giving the muggles a voice as well. And they had given the alliance one constitution, right at the beginning.

Hospitals were installed, where healers and doctors worked together. Shops - muggle and wizards alike - were open to all, just like sport events, theatres, operas, bars, clubs and public transportation. Education was still kept separate, though children were being taught about both cultures.

There was a common court of justice and a common prison, as well as a common currency. The muggles had had to give in a lot. They had to give up their currency and had their prisons warded by enchantments and aurors.

Albus had lied, had he said he wasn't feeling guilty about the blood on his hands, but when he looked at the world they had created, he calmed himself, thinking it had been for the greater good.

"Scheiß americans!" Gellert entered their mansion dramatically, threw his papers on the table and his cloak over a chair. His eyes were glowing with anger.

Albus looked up from the draft the French government had sent them concerning a new marriage law. The countries of their alliance each had an autonomous government, but before any law was passed it had to be send to them for approval. Just like every proposal for constitutional amendments.

"I take it, Madame Picquery hasn't changed her mind."

"No!" Gellert glared at him as if he had personally insulted him.

"Next time, I'll talk to her."

"Good luck with that. I haven't heard so much reactionary nonsense since that meeting with Herr Russland-doesn't-need-allies."

"I hope you didn't break a glass this time."

"Didn't even offer me a drink."

Albus had to force himself not to smile at their childishness.

"Well, you've never been the best of friends."

"Are you mocking me?"

"I'd never dare,” he said dryly.

Gellert narrowed his eyes, so Albus went on: "I've told you: let me talk to her. Kaufmann's adviced you to let me talk to her. But you insisted. She can't stand you, my dear. It was rather obvious that she wouldn't listen to you."

"Then why didn't _you_ insist that you go?"

Albus smiled. "Because in this case you just needed to see that even if you're hell-bent on getting your way, it doesn't always work. And since you're seldom listening to me when I tell you so, you had to learn it this way."

Gellert frowned. "I hate when you do that. That parent lecture thing."

"Next time, just let me do the talking with the difficult nations." He stood up and showed him the draft he was working on. "The French want to legalise all kinds of marriages."

Gellert raised an eyebrow, took the parchment and looked it over quickly. "At least someone's got the right ideas. You know, we should make this a constitutional amendment."

Albus smiled. "That's what I thought."

"Maybe we should marry, then."

Albus stared at him, speechless - and that didn't happen often.

"Marry?"

"It would be the right signal. For all, who doubt that decision."

"Look at you, what a romantic you are. Let's marry, because it's strategically an advantage."

Gellert rolled his eyes. "I don't need marriage to know that we belong together. But it'd be for the greater good."

Albus took his hand with the Elder Wand in it and twirled it thoughtfully. "Of course it would be."

 

*****

 

_Gellert,_

_I wasn't aware you have come to believe in the universe. But if such a place exists, I do hope there is another place, where we have not stopped talking and where we haven't headed down the dark path you have chosen in this time and place._

_I hope that nobody had to die, because of our connection. I hope I was able to see clear enough to stand up to you and I hope, in that place, you find satisfaction in your own brilliance and in love, not in power and atrocities._

_As for your remarks regarding my mental abilities: Although many think me omniscient, you of all people should know that often I know far less than I seem to do. Many of the things I seem to know are merely theories and assumptions that tend to prove to be right. You see it is much more my distinctive ability to assess and conclude - and maybe a talent for pretending to be sure of myself - , which makes me seem omniscient than omniscience itself._

_I think Tom Riddle - that is his real name - will soon prove to be a lot of trouble. If he is boring you, I suggest you end contact with him._

_I must go now. There are children, who still have a lot to learn._

_\- Albus_

 

*****

 

_Old friend,_

_I am well aware of your ability to pretend. I am also aware of what people think of you. Of the great Albus Dumbledore!_

_After all it's always been this way, even when we first met. You were already popular and well loved by the academic world. Hogwarts' star student. And you were already pretending to know what's best for your siblings, to be in control, on top of things!_

_But you were only a boy, resentful of your situation. I opened up the world for you! I showed you what you could really be! What we could be! We shared something!_

_And you abandoned me, blamed me for an accident, when you and your brother lost control just as much as I did! And now you lecture me so passive aggressively about how you wish we'd never have shared, what we did. And how you wish my fulfilment could fit into your Moralapostel view of the world._

_But we are the same, Albus! We are brilliant! That much you can't change!_

_\- Gellert_

 

*****

 

_Dear Gellert,_

_be sure, I have no intention to lecture you. What you say about that brief summer is true. I was resentful and you did spark me. But our loss of control cost so many people so much, how can I not regret that?_

_And as much as you feel like I abandoned you, I feel like you were the one to abandon me. Maybe we abandoned each other and maybe if we hadn't, history would be different now._

_But now, all is said and done and it does not do dwell on that._

_I hope that in this other place in the universe we managed to overcome our differences and stay together. I hope in some place we didn't leave each other alone._

_Be well._

_\- Albus_

 

*****

 

Albus had never been violent, not even as a young boy. His brother had had a tendency to get himself into barrels and often ended up with a black eye or something similar. Albus had always stayed well out of that and if anyone had ever tried to pull him in, Aberforth - with his protective strike - had picked up the fight for him.

He didn't like that, but he simply preferred to solve conflicts with words or magic, if it had to be a fight.

He had never understood his brother's liking for sheer violence, but there were a lot of things he hadn't understood before that summer.

When Ariana died, they were in shock. All three of them. It had been so loud before, yells and curses flying around so much that none of them could tell which one belonged to whom, anymore. And when his little sister collapsed on the ground, suddenly, it was so quiet.

The silence wasn't just heavy, it was oppressing, like a thick blanket intending to suffocate them.

Gellert bolted away without another word, leaving them with her corpse. None of them talked to the other, Aberforth went back to Hogwarts in September and Albus felt more miserable than ever.

He didn't dare ask Bathilda where Gellert was, he didn't do or feel anything for a long time, but when he opened the door one afternoon in October and found himself staring into Gellert's face, a flash of emotions overcame him, so powerful it almost knocked him over.

He loved Gellert, even after all that had happened, but in that moment he was just so, _so_ angry. He had never been that angry in all his life and never that desperate as well.

He was speechless at first, but when Gellert opened his mouth, something broke inside him and all emotions he hadn't been able to feel during the past few weeks broke lose inside him.

They yelled at each other, in front of his house, so loudly, that all the neighbours had to be able to listen to every single word they said.

It was both their fault, they both had fought, neither knew whose curse it had been, that had killed her, but whosever it was, Albus knew, he was guilty anyways. Guilty for neglecting his sister.

When Gellert screamed this to his face, though, voicing Albus' feelings, he did something for the very first time in his life: he punched him.

Of all things, Gellert apparently didn't expect that, so he stumbled back in surprise, holding his jaw. He stared at him for a few moments, then something lit up in his eyes and before he could react, Gellert had him pinned to the wall.

They beat each other bloody and only stopped, when Bathilda called Mr Highland and Mr Cemetery - two friendly wizards, who lived nearby - to tear them apart.

Surprisingly, when he lay in bed that night, his whole body hurting from the remaining bruises that weren't easily healed by a few potions or ointments, he felt relieved.

He still felt anger burning inside him - mostly directed at himself - and sadness and desperation. But at least he was feeling _something_.

After two days, he was the one standing in front of Bathilda's house and Gellert the one staring at him.

"I know it's my fault, too."

Gellert nodded slowly. "I shouldn't have lost my temper."

"No, you shouldn't have. But I should've seen it coming."

It _was_ his fault. And it hurt so badly that tears clouded his view. Gellert stepped forward and pulled him into a hesitant embrace. Albus leaned in, hid his tears in Gellert's shirt.

"I'm still angry," he whispered, his voice thick with tears. "You cursed my brother and you ran away. It's our fault, she's dead."

Gellert pulled him closer. "I know."

It was a struggle all their lives to keep on the light side of magic. They were brilliant together, but they could be dangerous - almost toxic - too.

They managed rather well. They were great, they did travel, they did a lot of research, they discovered things that helped a lot of people, but that could never make up for the guilt they felt over Ariana.

Aberforth refused to talk to him ever again and although he missed his brother, he couldn't see a way to consolation.

Albus ended up at Hogwarts, Gellert stuck with science all his life. They were well-respected, every child in their world knew their names, they looked up to them, without knowing about the battles they fought behind closed doors or at night in their dreams.

 

*****

 

_Albus Dumbledore,_

_you still love me! I must say I am surprised, even after all this time? After everything that's happened?_

_Is that why you never visit?_

_Do you wish to forget me? Your secret sin? Do you wish we'd have never met?_

_\- GG_

 

*****

 

_Gellert Grindelwald,_

_Do you?_

_\- AD_

 

*****

 

_Dumbledore,_

_You're the best and the worst thing that's ever happened to me._

_You enlightened me, you shaped my way, you gave me the very words that are caved in my prison now. You created the conditions of my confinement._

_Without you I'd never have reached my greatness, without you, I'd never have experienced certain kinds of magic. They call me a madman, but I'm not mad enough to try blood magic with someone incapable or someone I don't trust. I'm not mad enough to let just anyone use legilimecy in bed._

_You are the more powerful of us, I can admit that - at least concerning dueling. And If I submit to anyone, I submit to you._

_You are the only equal, the only friend I've ever known. You are the only one I've ever trusted._

_And you betrayed me, you abandoned me. But you cannot turn back time, you cannot undo what we have done together, what we have been together._

_I'd rather live with that, than never know what greatness feels like._

_\- GG_

 

*****

 

At the same time in a completely different place in the universe Albus Dumbledore had become the youngest ever Minister for Magic.

He'd traveled the world with Elphias Doge, had found twelve different uses of dragon blood, had worked on alchemy with Nicholas Flamel and history with Bathilda Bagshot. He had written more front-page articles for Transfiguration Today than anyone else and had been awarded withe the Order of Merlin, first class in 1928, when he had tracked down and killed - as there was no other way, he had been more powerful than anyone else Albus had ever met - a man called Grindelwald, who was on his rise to power in Europe, spreading fear among wizards and Muggles alike.

Grindelwald had been more ruthless, more atrocious than Albus had ever imagined anyone could be. He hadn't even established a regime and had already killed hundreds of people in his path. And even when he stood in front of the man, Grindelwald had only laughed at him coldly, had been completely void of emotion except for cruelty.

It was something Albus would never forget, especially when he proved to be so powerful. He had wondered many times how someone so obviously clever and talented could become so dark. How anyone could ever become so indifferent. He wondered what kind of life that man had had to live.

Ariana had died aged 18 from the Obscurus inside her and had taken their mother with her. Aberforth had suffered and for a while, Albus had feared his brother would follow them.

He'd never married, never had had a relationship even that went further than sex and dating. Sometimes, he thought, he'd never really loved. He'd just never found a man that he found intriguing enough to spend more of his rare free time with. Sometimes, he thought, he didn't really know human connection. But he was content nonetheless.

To his immense surprise he had won the elder wand from Grindelwald and was still looking for the other two hallows. He was powerful, he was a popular minister, he had his friends, his brother, he had a hallow and the means to find the others, too.

He had everything he had dreamed of since he was a little boy. There was nothing he could miss, after all.

 

*****

 

_Dear Gellert,_

_I suppose it won't surprise you to hear that the Daily Prophet just recently labeled me madman as well._

_I think you would be rather amused by all the names my students make up for me._

_I must admit, I am tired. And I am exhausted of contemplating my feelings concerning you. You have tangled my heart and you have always known that. But we are old now. You sit in your high tower and I sit in mine._

_There are more pressing affairs I have to deal with. Tom is proving to be even more dangerous than I had expected._

_Love,  
An old fool_

*****

 

_My dear Albus,_

_You should just go ahead and show the stupid boy how boring his wanna - be dark lord attitude is. You could beat me after all and I was much smarter than him._

_He doesn't even have a purpose, does he? Just his hunger for power - how trite!_

_I'd be tired of dealing with something like that, too. I am tired of putting up with the dumbness of the wards here. I am sure, I will die of boredom one day!_

_You know, in another place in the universe, she never died and we have never parted ways and neither of us is tired or bored now._

_I will go to sleep now and think of that. Good luck with your ascending dark lord._

_\- A bored madman_

 

*****

 

Since he could think, everyone had always told him he'd be famous one day. That he'd be great and bright and people would look up to him.

He'd believed it all his life until the day his mother had died and he'd seen all his dreams shattered.

If somebody had told him at the time, that a good part of the witches and wizards _he_ looked up to would know his name even before he turned 21, he'd never have believed them.

But these days they knew him. Him and Gellert, because of their progress in research of Obscurials.

That hadn't been a selfless venture, initially. They had only tried to find a way to be able to travel, to search for the hallows, to become invincible. They had tried to find a way to cure Ariana, so that they could take her on their journey, but somehow along the way it had become something different.

Ariana was relatively stable for a year now - stable enough to travel anyway, but they hadn't run off, yet. They stayed in Godric's Hollow, they kept working together, they published their discoveries. Leading witches and wizards in their respective fields contacted them, wanted to talk to them and work with them, sometimes even invited them to congresses and galas.

He knew Gellert was still toying with the idea of mastering death and establishing an empire, but most of the time he was too busy to dwell on it.

"One more week." Gellert hugged him from behind, pushed his hair aside and kissed his neck.

One more week until the end of school term. One more week until Aberforth graduated. One more week until they were free to go wherever they wanted.

Albus grinned, turning around to capture Gellert's lips with his own.

"Which is good, since I am invited to the European Congress for Transfiguration and Ms Appleburn said I should bring my handsome comrade, too."

Gellert smirked. "And for your birthday, we'll already be in Brazil with the Obscurus Research Organisation."

Aberforth was glad to take care of his sister and let them run off together.

They traveled the world for almost a year and at the end of it Albus felt like he'd learned more than in his seven years at Hogwarts.

They had found a way to tranquilise an Obscurus using a mixture of the venom of a Tibetan Swooping Evil and Phoenix tears and were awarded for it in the same year.

More of an accident, although that seemed hard to believe, was their stumbling over the Elder Wand at Gregorovitch's in the Black Forest. In an impulsive course of action Gellert broke into Gregorovitch's office and stole the wand. Albus felt slightly guilty for that, but the thrill, the excitement of possessing a hallow got the better of him and Gregorovitch hadn't put it to good use anyway.

Following that incident, they continued their search for the hallows.

It took them five more years, but in the end, they found the other two in British pure blood families and it was easy enough to manipulate the right relative into giving it up for either money or favours.

They decided Albus would use them first but when he stood there with the stone in one hand and the wand in the other and the cloak around his shoulders he didn't feel like the master of death. He didn't feel anything special at all.

He turned the stone and mother and father appeared in front of him. He was so happy to see them again he almost started crying. His mother smiled at him lovingly and his father nodded, a proud glimmer in his eyes. But when he reached out he couldn't touch them, not really. They weren't ghosts, but they weren't real either. They were something in between, but it wasn't enough.

He spent days and nights, turning the stone again and again, sometimes even with his siblings. He could barely think of anything else, but to see his parents again, when he had lost them so early on, but it was never enough. Each time he couldn't touch them, he wanted nothing more than to try again. And again. And again. And again.

He hadn't even realised how much he had missed them until he had seen them again now and it was making him sick.

"You have to stop." Gellert told him very seriously one evening. "You're wasting away and I can't watch this. The damn fairytale was right. It doesn't work."

Albus could only shake his head staring at his parents, who now looked as sad and desperate as he did. Gellert sighed angrily, took the stone despite his protest and threw it into the nearest river.

They kept the wand and returned the cloak to the Potters and then they went on with their lives.

They spent some more years with their studies until Gellert started doing politics in Austria and Albus applied for a position at Hogwarts.

 

*****

 

_Dear Gellert,_

_Although we were so captured by the deathly hallows, by the prospect of mastering death, you and I were never afraid of dying. Once you even told me that death is but the next great adventure._

_Maybe you were right and this great adventure just takes place in a different place in the universe. Or in a different universe._

_I do not know, but I am ready to find out. I think we will meet again rather soon._

_I have missed you most of my life. I am a patient man. I will wait for you to start the next adventure and I hope we will get it right this time._

_I love you, my dear. But you already know that._

_Be well._

_\- Albus P. W. B. Dumbledore_

 

*****

 

_Al,_

_Maybe in this different place, maybe on this next adventure I will be able to love you, too. Properly._

_Looking forward to it._

_See you soon,  
Gellert_

**Author's Note:**

> This was slightly inspired by Skam, which is brilliant in itself! (so give it a try if you haven't already)
> 
> And for those, who care, the translation of Gellert's german excurses:
> 
> scheiß - bloody  
> Herr Russland - Mr Russia  
> Moralapostel - german word for someone who insists on holding up moral standards


End file.
